Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 44
For the music leader. A maskil[a] of the Korahites.
44 We have heard it, God, with our own ears;
our ancestors told us about it:
about the deeds you did in their days,
in days long past.
2 You, by your own hand, removed all the nations,
but you planted our ancestors.
You crushed all the peoples,
but you set our ancestors free.
3 No, not by their own swords
did they take possession of the land—
their own arms didn’t save them.
No, it was your strong hand, your arm,
and the light of your face
because you were pleased with them.
4 It’s you, God! You who are my king,
the one who orders salvation for Jacob.
5 We’ve pushed our foes away by your help;
we’ve trampled our enemies by your name.
6 No, I won’t trust in my bow;
my sword won’t save me
7 because it’s you who saved us from our foes,
you who put those who hate us to shame.
8 So we glory in God at all times
and give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 But now you’ve rejected and humiliated us.
You no longer accompany our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the enemy;
our adversaries plunder us.
11 You’ve handed us over like sheep for butchering;
you’ve scattered us among the nations.
12 You’ve sold your people for nothing,
not even bothering to set a decent price.
13 You’ve made us a joke to all our neighbors;
we’re mocked and ridiculed by everyone around us.
14 You’ve made us a bad joke to the nations,
something to be laughed at by all peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace confronts me,
and shame covers my face
16 because of the voices of those
who make fun of me and bad-mouth me,
because of the enemy who is out for revenge.
17 All this has come upon us,
but we haven’t forgotten you
or broken your covenant.
18 Our hearts haven’t turned away,
neither have our steps strayed from your way.
19 But you’ve crushed us in the place where jackals[b] live,
covering us with deepest darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to some strange deity,
21 wouldn’t God have discovered it?
After all, God knows every secret of the heart.
22 No, God, it’s because of you that we are getting killed every day—
it’s because of you that we are considered sheep ready for slaughter.
23 Wake up! Why are you sleeping, Lord?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever!
24 Why are you hiding your face,
forgetting our suffering and oppression?
25 Look: we’re going down to the dust;
our stomachs are flat on the ground!
26 Stand up! Help us!
Save us for the sake of your faithful love.
11 For you also, Judah, a harvest is appointed,
when I would improve the circumstances of my people.
7 When I would heal Israel,
the evil acts of Ephraim are exposed,
and the wicked deeds of Samaria;
for they deceive and steal,
a thief breaks in;
a group of bandits raid outside.
2 But they don’t consider within their hearts
that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their deeds show who they are,
right in front of my face.
3 By their wickedness they make the king glad,
and give joy to the officials with their lies.
4 They all act like adulterers;
they are like a heated oven,
whose baker doesn’t need to stoke the fire,
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king,
the officials became sick with the heat of wine;
he stretched out his hand to those who mocked him.
6 They approach like a hot oven, their hearts burning.
Throughout the night, their anger smolders;
in the morning, it continues to burn like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen;
none of them call upon me.
8 Ephraim mixes himself among the people;
Ephraim is like flatbread that is cooked on only one side.
9 Strangers have eaten up his strength,
yet he doesn’t know it;
gray hairs are sprinkled here and there upon him,
yet he doesn’t know it.
10 Israel’s pride is a witness against him;
yet they don’t return to the Lord their God,
or seek him because of all this.
Foolishness and God’s wrath
11 Ephraim has become like a dove,
silly and without common sense;
they call upon Egypt; they go to Assyria.
12 As they go, I will spread my net over them;
like birds in the sky, I will bring them down;
I will judge them according to the report made to their assembly.
13 Doom to them, for they have strayed from me;
destruction will be their lot because they have rebelled against me.
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
14 They don’t cry to me from the heart,
but they sob upon their beds;
they fight[a] over grain and wine;
they resist me.
15 It was I who gave them their strength,
yet they plot evil against me.
16 They return, but not to the Most High;[b]
they have become like a worthless bow;
their officials will fall by the sword
because of the rage of their tongues;
in Egypt they will make fun of them.[c]
Law of love
43 “You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you 45 so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible